Princeton High School football players continue to battle for the first victory of the season.
Princeton’s bid to gain that first triumph was thwarted when it fell to Hopewell Valley Central High School, 50-6, on Oct. 26 in Princeton.
“I like the effort out of our guys today. Hopewell is a good football team and hats off to them,” Princeton coach Charles Gallagher said. “We need guys to commit themselves all year. I believe we have the players. They just need to believe in themselves, show up and do all the right things to be a dominate football team.”
He said the program got a lot of young guys playing during the matchup with Hopewell Valley.
“The young guys are definitely getting better. We are watching a lot of film and we have a lot of things on tape,” Gallagher said. “We said in the offseason, we would take a look at it and get better.
Princeton, which fell to 0-7 after the loss, did score a touchdown off of a 15-yard run from senior quarterback Judd Petrone. Petrone finished the passing game with four completions in 12 attempts for 56 yards and he ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I’m glad he ran the ball. I would have loved for him to have thrown a touchdown,” Gallagher. “I am happy for him that he was able to get in the end zone; that is huge.”
Princeton junior wide receiver Dora Servil caught two passes for 47 yards, while senior running back Stephen Avis was the leader in the ground game.
The matchup with Hopewell Valley was also senior day for the Little Tigers.
“I only have two seniors on the team that have played all four years. The seniors mean a lot to this program and we are glad to have them,” Gallagher said.
He said he wants to see his players have a great week of practice and finish this season with even more great effort.
“We need to continue to take things from practice and execute them during the game,” he said.
Princeton’s next game is a home matchup on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. against Delran High School.
